1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to writing instrument accessories and more particularly to an instrument for shielding the writer's hand from both the writing instrument and the writing surface.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the health care environment, it is often critical to maintain aseptic conditions. Health care and dental care workers alike, typically gloved, frequently need to take notes or make data entries on paper or the like during patient treatment and must avoid picking up contamination on their gloves, from either the writing surface or the writing instrument, which could ultimately be transferred to the patient. Conversely, they must also avoid transferring to the writing surface any contamination on their hands or gloves, which could also lead to the spreading of infection. Aseptic pens are available, which can be autoclaved to preserve sterility. However, such pens are expensive and require frequent sterilization. Moreover, cross-contamination with the writing surface could still occur through direct contact between the writing hand and the writing surface.
Although having different objectives, a similar need is present in the industrial working environment. For example, a mechanic having grease-soiled hands may need to make notes without soiling the paper and the writing instrument.
To avoid picking up ink or other writing fluid on the hand, protective cuffs have been employed. This cuff is secured to the wrist or hand and cover the butt of the hand that comes into contact with the writing surface. Among other limitations, cuffs are clumsy and inconvenient, particularly as they are time consuming to put on and remove for each use.
In an attempt to avoid cross-contamination, shield plates have been employed that are adapted to rest on the writing surface below the butt of the hand and to slide across the writing surface below the butt of the hand as it writes. The underside of the shield is provided with several short spaced-apart projections serving as support legs to lift the plate above the writing surface. The support legs lower the frictional contact area with the writing surface so that the hand contact on the upper side of the plate is sufficient to cause the plate to slide over the writing surface, along with the hand as it writes. Because the device must be elevated, it consequently also elevates the hand to an unnatural writing position, and because it is mounted on legs, the shield plate must be capable of resisting bending forces during the hand's writing motion. Consequently, the plate is relatively thick, heavy and unwieldable. To move the device from one writing surface to another, the user must pick it up and hold it at the side edges, which can likely bring the fingers into contact with the writing surface, causing cross-contamination. Additionally, due to the low and flat configuration of the device, it is not conducive to be adapted for supporting a writing instrument when the writing instrument is not in use.
A modification of the shield plate concept has been developed where a thin plate having a finger handle protruding upward from the plate is used as a writing shield. To use this device, the little finger and its adjacent finger grasps the handle, while simultaneously, the thumb and forefinger grasps a writing instrument in the customary manner. In this position, the plate is horizontally disposed beneath the butt of the hand and above the writing surface, however the tip of the writing instrument has contact with the writing surface. As the hand writes, the device slides along the writing surface to shield the hand from the surface. The finger handle contains a cavity adapted for storage of the writing instrument when not in use. A tubular shield is also provided into which a writing instrument can be inserted to further protect the user from cross-contamination. The problem encountered with this device is that proper use requires excessive time and attention from the writer who has to carefully pick up the writing instrument and then carefully set it down when finished. The cavity within the finger handle fails to consistently contain the writing instrument, especially when the writing instrument is hurriedly inserted therein. In the case of a dentist for example, the dentist, while in the process of treating a patient, must rapidly grab the writing shield and instrument, write the necessary notes with the instrument, then release the shield and writing instrument to direct his attention back to the patient. Especially true during critical treatment procedures, the dentist cannot spare the extra time and attention required to lay the shield down, look for the cavity in the finger holder and carefully set the writing instrument therein.
Accordingly, there is a need for a shielded writing apparatus which provides a hand shield that is light, wieldable and easy to use without compromising the normal writing posture, which may be transparent, which may be easily lifted from one surface and placed onto another without the risk of cross-contamination, which is inexpensive to manufacture and which provides a means for automatically retaining a writing instrument thereto when not in use. The present invention satisfies these needs, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies present in the background art.